What’s out there that’s good: New Moon Girls

I was recently at a conference and talked with one of my colleagues, Jon Lasser, who told me about this great magazine and internet site. On their website, New Moon Girl Media says that their mission is “to help girls, age 8 and up, discover their unique voices and express them in the world.”

Whereas research tells us that the majority of magazines targeted at tween and teen girls are focused on advising them to make themselves over in order to become objects of boys’ interest, New Moon has a completely different take on what girls want to hear. In fact, it very specifically avoids conversations about changing your body or personality to fit in or become popular. Instead, girls are encouraged to think of themselves as world changers who can be interested in everything from art to science. There’s even a place for girls to share their own art, music, poetry, and articles.

There’s a really nice section focused on bodies and feelings, which provides advice and information on the changes that girl’s experience as they go through puberty. This isn’t the old “what can I do to make a boy like me” routine, it’s more focused on how do I figure out what’s going on with me and work through it in the best way. I also really like the fact that there’s information about friendship, how to be a good friend, and how to deal with difficulties. As we all know, friendships can get rocky in the early years of adolescence.

One of the coolest features that I saw on New Moon is the Girl2Girl Talk. It allows readers to share their own thoughts and ask questions of other girls. I saw one chat thread where the girls were discussing sexism! What an amazing opportunity for girls to be educated about the true, deep beauty and the strong voices that are theirs. If you have girls ages 8 and up, check it out. You won’t be sorry.